my details: i an in extreme northwest arkansas, zone 6. rarely get below 12-15 degrees, have many days above 90 in the summer. have a mobile coop (ark--37" wide, 8 ft long), two one-year old brown leghorns, two 5 wk old red star chicks that will join the flock in a few weeks. though they are confined to the 3ftx8ft coop (upstairs is roost, downstairs is grass) when we are gone or the weather is bad, most days my birds have a 35x45 foraging area they spend several hours in...it's a section of our garden. six feet on three sides, four feet on one side but if they fly over that they'll be in the garden and still have six ft fence surrounding them. we have hawks and eagles during the day. they are in a pretty predator-proof coop at night.

concerns--hawks. i want them to forage but not be super flighty. we live in a community based in a tourist attraction and the landlord has asked that they not be out (i know i'll likely have to clip wings eventually). 3-4 eggs/wk is fine. i have a baby/kids so non-aggressive is a necessity. size is a bit of a concern given the footprint of the roosting area. personality is a plus as we like to watch the hens do their thing while we garden or just sit out in the yard.

Because of the temperature extremes, I think you will be more satisified with the Wyandottes or the EE. They have smaller combs, which don't get frostbitten as often as single comb birds. You just to decide whether you want colored eggs or brown eggs. As for predators though, a concern I have is the high visability of the silver and golden lacing. The EE may be a little more camoflaged.

I wouldn't worry too much about the combs. I have a couple of girls with rather large combs and my mother has some with HUGE combs. Neither of us have had any problems with frostbite except one of my mom's girls getting just the tips frozen during the ice storm. Good luck whatever you decide.

I would get the EE because I think she's beautiful and they're pretty hardy birds! My favortie EE was attacked by a hawk at 7 weeks old and was bleeding from the mouth an she survived and is fine now!!

Quote:"Pretty hardy" is almost an understatement!!! Every EE I have had the pleasure of knowing has been amazingly strong and healthy. Every EE chick I have hatched comes out of the shell kicking and stomping and practically trying to lift the lid off the bator (yes, I am exaggerating a bit)!!! They really are a nice choice.